Pneumatic Resistance Training Machines: Are they Better?

Everybody has their own preferences and likes and dislikes, it’s what makes us unique as humans, and what allows us to break free of that hive mentality, associated with animals and insects. Rather than collectively thinking in conjunction with one another, we think individually, and because of that, we’re unique. One person may like Chocolate, whilst another may hate it. One person may enjoy garbage reality TV, whilst another, perhaps a sports and fitness writer, may think that reality TV is garbage. It’s like the age old saying “There’s no pleasing everybody” and how right it is. Because of this, it’s difficult to find things that appeal to everybody. Take gyms for instance. If you enjoy training, you probably have your favorite exercises to perform, and your favorite pieces of equipment. Maybe you’re an old school bodybuilder, who enjoys training in dungeons, and real hardcore gyms. Or perhaps you enjoy your shiny machine orientated gyms, your Planet fitness’ or your health spa gyms. Whichever you prefer, when it comes to pneumatic resistance training machines, you most definitely need to keep an open mind, but perhaps be not so quick to judge either.

What is a pneumatic resistance training machine? – It’s a machine, used for working out, which rather than relying on wires, weight stacks, cables etc, these are replaced by a pneumatic air cylinder, whose resistance can be altered, by simply adjusting the air pressure. So, lets say you were using a machine which had a weight stack, to make the exercise more difficult, you’d simply pop the pin in the weight stack, and select a heavier weight. Instead of this, all you do is increase the air pressure, which in turn increases the resistance. It’s effectively like trying to perform an exercise, whilst somebody else grabs the bar or handles, and pulls in the opposite direction to try and stop you.

What are their benefits? – Hardcore bodybuilders just aren’t going to like them, there’s no denying that fact, as they most certainly can’t replace the smell, feel, and sound of real iron. However, in more fitness and cardio based gyms, these machines are ideal. The resistance means that each exercise is performed in exactly the same way. Say you’re pressing a barbell. If you explode upwards, pushing the weight as hard as you can, the exercise would be easier than if you tried to slowly raise the bar above your head. With pneumatic resistance, the resistance is constantly the same, no matter how quickly you attempt to perform the bar. They also offer a lack of inertia, are safer than lifting a heavy stack of iron plates, and are generally more reliable.

Which Machine is Better? – Whether you like these machines or not, will very much depend on your own personal preferences. If you’re used to training in a grimy dark hole in the wall gym, surrounded by men that eat half a cow for breakfast, you’re probably going to hate them. However, if you enjoy clean light, more cardio based surroundings, then you’ll probably love them. The key really is to keep an open mind, try for yourself, and make up your own mind.

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Men’s Fit Club was started in 2011 with the goal of empowering men to get the most out of their lives. For founder, Grant Donovan, this meant going beyond exercise and diet tips to really address the broad range of issues that men face on a daily basis – topics like recreation, finding love, sexual health and even sound fashion advice.